Laura Jones

As the curtain rises, we’re met with a sea of pink – pink damask walls and heavy pink velvet curtains, with pink and white flowers adorning every available surface. This is the Garden Room at Clarence House (brilliantly designed by Christopher Oram), and the year is 1979.

The Crown Jewels marks writer Simon Nye’s, who is best known as the writer for Men Behaving Badly, West End debut. This historical heist, based on a true story, centres around King Charles II and the plot to steal the crown jewels and features a cast made up of some of the best British comedians including Al Murray (in his stage debut), Mel Giedroyc and Neil Morrissey.

It has been 20 years since Martin McDonagh’s play The Pillowman was first staged at the National Theatre and following a delay caused by the pandemic, it’s now returned to London for the first time since 2003.

It can be a daunted thing to bring Shakespeare’s work to life – it’s something that is so familiar to the public that it can sometimes feel tired and overdone. And yet Rebecca Frecknall’s production of Romeo and Juliet at the Almeida is a wonderful retelling of a Shakespearean classic.  

For the first time, Nick Mohammed’s beloved alter ego Mr. Swallow is setting off across the UK on tour with The Very Best & Worst of Mr. Swallow. And what better way to kick off your very first tour than with a sold-out London show?

There’s been much excitement about the West End transfer of Daniel Fish’s production of Oklahoma! Following a successful run on Broadway it was inevitable that the West End would be its next stop.

Christmas time at the Royal Albert Hall is always magical - and what better way to get in to the festive spirit than with a big band singing classic Christmas and swing songs, fronted by none other than eighties star Rick Astley. 

What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to indulge in arguably Charles Dickens’ best known tale, A Christmas Carol. You might think you’ll be spending the evening watching Ebenezer Scrooge redeem himself after realising the error of his ways, but Mr Swallow’s A Christmas Carol-ish is a much more fun take on a Christmas classic.

Away from the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, Cooper has been creating and developing his first ever musical. BroadwayWorld caught up with him to talk about the process, what he's learnt and what's next for the brand new musical Lovestuck. We also have an exclusive first look at one of the songs from the show.

First premiering five years ago at the Union Theatre, Rehab the Musical draws on songwriter Grant Black’s own personal experience of rehab.

Naomi Wallace’s The Breach is the first in a trilogy of plays about different communities in Kentucky. Receiving its UK premiere at the Hampstead Theatre, Wallace’s play focuses on four teenagers who live in Louisville, Kentucky – siblings Jude (Shannon Tarbet) and Acton (Stanley Morgan) and Acton’s friends Hoke (Alfie Jones) and Frayne (Charlie Beck).

The Merchant of Venice is vastly considered to be Shakespeare’s most controversial and problematic play and director Abigail Graham does not shy away from the tough antisemitic and racist themes covered in the bard’s text.

Earlier this year Jamie Morton, co-creator of popular podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, was touring North America when the live shows were shut down due to COVID-19. Outside of the podcast world, Morton also co-runs a musical comedy cabaret night in London called Round to Rita’s.

Morecambe and Wise have been a part of my life since childhood. I've spent countless hours sat watching their shows, looking up their sketches on YouTube and always making sure to watch any documentaries. I've always felt disappointed that I never got to see my favourite comedians live on stage.

The Taming of the Shrew is arguably one of Shakespeare's most controversial comedies. In Maria Gaitandi's production, designer Liam Bunster has helped to transform the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with raised platforms and ladders, with the cast using them constantly throughout. Although you occasionally lose sight of the performers as they climb onto the various platforms, it makes the production unique from anything else I've seen in the space.

Shakespeare's Globe has opened its doors during the winter season for the first time to host Sandi Toksvig's Christmas at the (Snow) Globe which she created with her sister Jenifer.

Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey has returned to the West End for the first time in 60 years following a successful 2014 run at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre and a UK tour.

Sydney and the Old Girl is the second of Eugene O'Hare's productions to play at the Park Theatre this year, following a run of The Weatherman in the summer.

Two of the most prevalent themes in Ed Thomas' new play, On Bear Ridge, are memories and language. Set atop a mountain in a rural location, presumably somewhere in Wales, butcher John Daniel (Rhys Ifans), his wife Noni (Rakie Ayola) and slaughterman Ifan William (Sion Daniel Young) are bunkering down in their run-down shop while the snow builds higher outside the front door.

Based on a true story, Evan Placey's debut play Mother of Him tells the story of a Canadian teenager under house arrest while he waits for his hearing. We eventually discover that Matthew (Scott Folan) has raped several girls at a sorority house along with a friend. Although we don't see the world outside - every time the front door opens, there are flashes from the paparazzi cameras and shouts from journalists who are camped outside the family home.